Alumni, friends and corporate partners gathered outside the Davidson-Gundy Alumni Center on Oct. 20 for the return of Celebration of Support, an annual event honoring the impact of The University of Texas at Dallas’ philanthropic supporters.
Nearly 18,000 donations from 8,400 individual donors were made in the last academic year in support of campus causes, the largest number of gifts ever received by the University in a single year. In total, donors contributed nearly $76.2 million, making it one of the most successful fundraising years in UT Dallas history.
Each gift helped advance the $750 million goal of New Dimensions: The Campaign for UT Dallas, the University’s ongoing comprehensive campaign. To date, the campaign has raised nearly $317 million toward the goals of attracting the best and brightest students, enhancing lives through transformative research and transforming the arts at UTD.
“As UT Dallas grows and we expand our ambitions, we need to expand our support from the community,” said UT Dallas President Richard C. Benson, the Eugene McDermott Distinguished University Chair of Leadership. “I’m excited about everything that’s to come in our future. I’m even more excited to know that UT Dallas has the support of our philanthropic partners to make it all happen.”
“Everything that happens here relies on the support of our donors. Their generosity makes it possible for the best and brightest students to study at UT Dallas, creates new knowledge and new technologies, and allows our university to help solve some of our society’s most pressing problems.”
Kyle Edgington PhD’13, vice president for development and alumni relations at UTD
Under green and orange lights and with the sounds of the Texins Jazz Band filling the air, members of UTD’s giving societies were recognized with special pins and banners commemorating their unique contributions to the University. University leaders recalled several significant recent gifts, including a $32 million commitment by the O’Donnell Foundation to name the Edith and Peter O’Donnell Jr. Athenaeum and a $15 million gift from Texas Instruments to help construct the Texas Instruments Biomedical Engineering and Sciences Building in the Southwestern Medical District.
New gifts increased UTD’s overall endowment to more than $714.8 million, closing in on the University’s Strategic Plan goal of $800 million by 2025. Several new endowments for student scholarships were established last year, providing critical financial aid to deserving students across all the University’s schools.
Jimena Mora, a first-generation college student and recipient of scholarship aid through the Diversity Scholars Program, thanked donors for their support of students like her.
“I will forever be grateful to the Diversity Scholars Program and the Academic Bridge Program,” said Mora, a biomedical engineering senior. “I see that the world of engineering is changing rapidly, and I would like to thank UT Dallas’ donors, corporate sponsors and friends for serving as a catalyst for changing the cultural environment by investing in future engineers like me.”
Kyle Edgington PhD’13, vice president for development and alumni relations, acknowledged the vital role private philanthropy plays in advancing UTD’s impact throughout the community.
“This university changes lives,” Edgington said. “Everything that happens here relies on the support of our donors. Their generosity makes it possible for the best and brightest students to study at UT Dallas, creates new knowledge and new technologies, and allows our university to help solve some of our society’s most pressing problems.”